Portable detection units are becoming very useful in today's society, with the threat of terrorism being more and more prominent. In more detail, bioterrorism and biological warfare pose both physical and psychological threats to military and civilian forces, as well as to civilian populations.
The difficulty and time needed to identify potentially dangerous biological or chemical agents exacerbates the risks and fear associated with biological warfare. For example, potential threats may be an unknown liquid left at a subway station or an unknown gas emanating from a building. Because of the time needed to assess potential threats, first responders are left with a choice. People can be permitted to continue traveling and risk further spreading the biological agents, or the area can be isolated causing potentially large disruptions and expense for what may be nothing more than spilled coffee creamer.
In an effort to more quickly identify biological agents and respond to attacks, efforts have been made to develop portable detection units, such as portable Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) units. However, these portable units often can only be used by highly trained personnel making field use difficult. Thus, a need exists for a portable detection unit that can be used easily and effectively by field personnel with little training.